DAF

first DAF truck assembled in Australia

First DAF Truck Assembled In Australia

At Bayswater in Victoria this week, a locally-produced DAF CF85 prime mover, the first DAF truck assembled in Australia was presented to, long-term customer and supporter of DAF, Cahill Transport, by Paccar Australia managing director, Andrew Hadjikakou. 
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Traction And The Lifting Axle

Traction and the Lifting Axle

When considering a truck like the DAF LF 6×2, it’s all about traction and the lifting axle. The new DAF LF can load up to its 23.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM), but as soon as the mass at the back drops below 6.5 tonnes, it can be retracted. Read More
Lifting The Pusher

Lifting The Pusher

The new DAF LF 6×2 is all about lifting the pusher and the new model, previewed at the Brisbane Show gets a Diesel News test drive around Melbourne. Here in Australia, we are unused to the concept of a pusher axle that can lift out of the way when not needed. If any axles have been capable of being lifted in the 6×2/6×4 space, they have normally been lifting tags, which are simpler to engineer. However, their popularity has remained limited by issues around overhang lengths, especially when we have to live with the 6.0 to 6.5-tonne front-axle mass limit. Read More
Out of the Horsepower Race

Out of the Horsepower Race

Over the years, DAF, has stayed out of the horsepower race, resolutely refusing to follow the crowd and turn up the wick on its biggest displacement, 13 litre, diesels, observes Diesel News’ European Correspondent, Brian Weatherley. However, before the recent launch of its new XF and CF models the press worked itself up into a right-old tizzy (again), convinced the cloggies were about to give their 12.9 litre six-pot a major boost in power, having previously limited it to 510hp and 2500Nm. Read More

Improved DAF Cabin

Diesel News’ Europe Correspondent Brian Weatherley reports on the improved DAF Cabin on the latest Euro 6 XF and CF, launched in the European market. For DAF’s engineers at Eindhoven in The Netherlands, the watchword is with evolution, not revolution and their latest CF and XF proves it.  New CF and XF gain a face-lifted interior along with an updated night control panel by the bed plus an upgraded instrument and dashboard layout. But what are they like on the road? The answer, to use the pommie habit of emphasis through understatement, is rather good. We tried out the new models in Holland and while it’s not a country famed for its contours we did manage to find the odd hill on our test route which included motorways and local roads. With the new 450hp rating on the MX-11 likely to appeal to European fleet operators, we first tried a CF 450FT ‘lightweight’ 4×2 prime mover hitched to a tri-axle tank trailer running at around 32-tonnes, somewhat below the normal 40 tonne EU limit, but enough to get a feel for it working.
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Flat Floor Thoughts

The long-awaited arrival of the right-hand-drive Renault ‘T High’ tractor in the UK has given Diesel News’ European Correspondent, Brian Weatherley, some flat floor thoughts – thinking about the benefits of flat-floor cab-overs to overnighters. Frankly, I’m surprised more manufacturers don’t do it. ‘Do what?’ I hear you ask Down Under. Build more flat-floor cab-over models, that’s what. Given the fact that every night hundreds of thousands of European long-haul drivers are bedding down for the night in a truck (and I reckon 99.99 per cent of them will be doing it in a cab-over prime mover) you’d think that all of Europe’s truck makers would be keen to make their cabs as easy to move around in as possible.
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2018 International Truck of the Year Announcement

In Europe, the 2018 International Truck of the Year Announcement has been made today. DAF’s new XF/CF truck range has been elected International Truck of the Year for 2018 by a jury of 23 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing 23 major trucking magazines from throughout Europe. The prestigious award was handed over to Preston Feight, President of DAF Trucks, during the press day of the Solutrans Commercial Vehicle Show in Lyon, France.
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DAF Looks Good on Saving Fuel

Following the latest release in Europe, Diesel News’ Europe Correspondent, Brian Weatherley, reckons DAFs look good on saving fuel. He has seen them, and driven them. DAF says its latest CF and XF represent ‘pure excellence’.  According to Ron Borsboom, DAF’s chief engineer, director of product development and board member: “One of the things where we feel we do a pretty good job is we are close to our customers, and we understand what the requirements and needs of our customers are.”
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New Scania, Trucking Optimism, a Major Fine and Electric Axles

The news from Diesel this week shows evidence of a new Scania, trucking optimism, a major fine and electric axles, with stories from around the world. Images of the next generation Scania driving on Australian roads have started to appear on social media, as the Swedish truck maker run the new models in a, far from secret, evaluation program.  Read More
100 Issues of Diesel

100 Issues of Diesel

The publication of the September/October 2017 issue means there have now been 100 issues of Diesel Magazine. Let’s have a look back at our first edition to get a picture of how far we have come
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